Safety device for mine-shafts.



PATENTED JULY '7, 1908.

N. W. DIGKERSON.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE SHAPTS.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 2; 1906.

18% ha use:

UNITED sTA Es PATENT oFFIoE.

NORVAL W. DIOKERSON, OF DERWENT, OHIO.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE-SHAFTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORVAL WV. 'DIoKEn- SON, citizen of the United States, residing at Derwent, in the county of Guernsey and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Mine- Shafts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to safety apparatus for use in connection with mine railways and elevators; and it contemplates the provision of an apparatus calculated to effectually prevent the passage of a mine car to the elevator shaft except when the elevator car is in a position to receive the mine car, and this without subjecting the mine car to undue shock orin any way impairing the usefulness of the same.

The invention also contemplates the provision in an apparatus of the kind stated, of means whereby an empty mine car moved from the elevator car to the railway is caused to automatically set a stop calculated to offer an abutment to a loaded mine car run on the elevator car and in that way preclude the possibility of the loaded mine car being run over and off the elevator cart. a, cause said loaded mine car to stop on the elevator car in a proper position to be lifted by the same.

Other advantageous features peculiar to my invention will be fully appreciated from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a broken plan View of the safety apparatus constituting the present and preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by arrow so as to illustrate the position of the car catchers relative to the rails of the mine railway. Fig. 3 is a detail, longitudinal vertical section of the device through the medium of which a loaded mine car is stop ed on the elevator car in proper position to )6 lifted by the latter.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings, referring to which:

A is the elevator shaft of a coal or other mine.

B is an elevator car or cage movable in the shaft A in the ordinary manner, and O is the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 2, 1906.

Patented July 7, 1908.

Serial No. 328,948.

mine railway. This mine railway as is usual has one of its ends arranged adjacent to one side of the elevator shaft A so as to receive empty mine cars from the rails a on the elevator car B, and it then extends through a portion ofthe mine from whence the supply of coal is obtained, and has its opposite end arranged adjacent to the op osite side of the shaft so as to permit of loac ed mine cars be ing shifted from its rails to the said rails a on the elevator car. Thus it will be seen that when the elevator car is moved down to the plane of the railway C, an empty mine car 011 the elevator car may be run off the elevator car and on the portion of the railway C to the left in Fig. 1, and a loaded mine car may be run from the portion of the railway C at the right of Fig. 1 to the elevator car after which the elevator car may be raised.

With a View of preventing the passage of a loaded mine car from the portion of the railway C at the right of Fig. 1 to the elevator shaft A except when the elevator car B is in position to receive the said mine car, I provide the mechanism illustrated in the right hand portion of Fig. 1 and in Fig. 2. This mechanism comprises one or more car catchers b which are preferably in the form of levers arranged to swing horizontally out and in, a longitudinal central lever c fulcrumed at an intermediate point of its length in the railway bed and having one of its arms con nected through a link d with one catcher b and its other arm connected through a link 6 with the other catcher Z), a weight f, a cable g assed around suitable sheaves and connectmg the weight f and the lever 0 so as to enable the said weight to normally hold the catchers b in and return the same to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a bar h which extends transverse of the railway C and-is provided at an intermediate point of its length with an offset 7r designed to normally rest over and engage the forward arm of the lever c after the manner shown in Fig. 1, a weight Z, a cable m passed around suitably located sheaves and connecting one end of the bar it and the weight Z so as to enable the said weight to normally hold the bar in and return the same to the position shown in Fig. 1, and a longitudinally extending rock-shaft n having a depending arm connected with one end of the bar It and a so having an arm 1' arranged to be engaged and depressed by the elevator car as the same approaches its lowermost position i. c, the position in which its rails a are alined and flush with the rails of the railway C. In the positions shown the catchers b will obviously engage a car as the same approaches the shaft A, and in that way prevent the said car from moving to the shaft A when the elevator car is not there to receive it. When, however, the elevator car moves into its lowermost position it will be seen that it will by engaging the arm 1" rock the shaft n in the direction indicated by arrow so as to enable the arm p and the bar it to swing the lever c in the direction indicated by arrow and against the gravitation of the weights f and Z and enable the said lever 0 through the links (1 and e to'thrust the catchers b and thereby disengage the same from the loaded mine car. When the loaded mine car is thus released it will, when the portion of the railway C is declined toward the elevator shaft A as is generally the case, move toward the elevator shaft A, and en route it will engage and depress the forward arm of a trip lever s, and inasmuch as the rear arm of the said trip lever is disposed under and in engagement with the bar it, it

will be apparent that the depression of the forward arm of lever s will be attended by the raising of the bar it and the consequent disengagement of its offset 7c from the forward arm of the lever c. When the said lever c is thus released the gravitation of the weight f will return the said lever and the catchers b to the positions shown so as to enable the catchers to engage the following loaded mine car and prevent the same from assing to the elevator shaft A. When the e evator car B is raised with the loaded mine car thereon the arm 1" of the rockshaft n is released,

whereupon the gravitation of the weight Z acts to restore the bar h to the position shown in Fig. 1 where the offset it engages the lever 0 so that it is necessary for the arm rto be depressed in order to effect outward movement of the car catchers b, It will be understood from the foregoing that the elevator car B is shown above the arm 1" of the rockshaft n and ready on its continued down movement to depress the said arm 1".

As best shown in Fig. 2 the car catchers b have inwardly reaching arms t, and these armst are dis osed in a plane considerably .above' the rai s of the railway 0, whereby as shown in Fig. 1 so as to enable them to better engage a car body. At their rear ends the catchers b are suitably connected to endbody of a loaded mine car brings up against the arms t of the car catchers b, the springs F will permit the catchers b to give forwardly, and in that way will practically take up the shock and jar and lessen the liability of either the car or the safety apparatus being injured incident to the catching of the car.

In order to stop a loaded mine car in proper position on the elevator car B, 1 provide the automatic stop device M shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This automatic stop device may be of any construction that is ada ted to be set by a car moved from the e evator car to the railway C without involv ing departure from the scope of my invention. I prefer, however, to make the said device M in the form of a lever and to have it comprise a comparatively heavy inner arm 1) adapted to normally rest in the position shown in Fig. 3, relative to the elevator car B and a notch 'w therein, and a comparatively long outer arm :0 which is by preference rounded at its free end as indicated by y. The arm at of device M normally rests in the position shown in Fig. 3 and hence it follows that when the elevator car B is lowered with an empty car thereon to the plane of the railway C, there is nothing to prevent the said empty car being moved from the elevator car to the portion of the railway C at the left of the elevator shaft A. It will be noticed, however, that during the said transfer of the empty mine car from the elevator car B to the portion of the railway C at the left, the said mine car will engage and depress the arm r of the device M and thereby raise the arm 1; of the said device so that the said arm 1) will ofier a stop to the loaded mine car which moves on the elevator car B and in that way will assure the loaded mine car coming to rest in proper position on the elevator car B. When the empty mine car mentioned is run around on the railway O to receive its load of coal, the device M is obviously released from said car when it will immediately assume its normal position illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will be gathered from the foregoing that notwithstanding the automatic character of practice various changes in the form, construction and relative arrangement of the parts may be made so long as the same do not depart from the scope of my invention as claimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, 1s:

1. The combination of an elevator shaft, a landing, an elevator car movable in the shaft, a car catcher having an inwardly directed arm arranged in a horizontal plane to engage the body of a car and thereby prevent the movement of said car to the elevator shaft, a trigger arranged to be engaged by the elevator car, and a connection intermediate the trigger and the car catcher for moving the latter outward by the former.

2. The combination of an elevator shaft, a landing, an elevator car movable in the shaft, a car catcher having an inwardly directed arm arranged in a horizontal plane to engage the body of a car and thereby prevent the movement of said car to the elevator shaft, a spring for permitting the car catcher to give forward when the same is struck by a car, a trigger arranged to be engaged by the elevator car, and a connection intermediate the trigger and the car catcher for moving the latter by the former.

3. The combination of a catcher having a portion arranged to engage a car body with a view of stopping the same, a spring for permitting the said catcher to give forward when engaged by a car, and automatic means for disengaging the said catcher from the car body.

4. The combination of a catcher having a portion arranged to engage a car with a view of stopping the same, a spring for permitting the said catcher to give forward when engaged by a car, and automatic means for disengaging the said catcher from the car body.

5. The combination of an elevator shaft, a car movable therein, a catcher for engaging a car with a view of stopping the same, a spring for permitting the catcher to give forward when struck by a car, and means controlled by the elevator car for disengaging the catcher from the car which it stops.

6. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator ear movable therein, a catcher for engaging the body of a mine car with a view of stopping the same; said catcher having an arm and being fulcrumed on an endwise movable red, the said rod, a support therefor, and a spring arranged between an abutment on the rear portion of the rod and the said support, and means controlled by the elevator car for disengaging the catcher from a mine car.

7. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator car movable therein, a car catcher in the form of a horizontally movable lever fulerumed at its rear end and having an inwardly directed forward arm arranged in a horizontal plane to engage the body of a mine car, means for moving said catcher inward, and means controlled by the elevator car for moving the catcher outward.

S. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator car movable therein, a car catcher in the form of a horizontally movable lever fulcrumed at its rear end and having an inwardly directed forward arm arranged in a horizontal plane to engage the bodyof amine car, a spring for permitting said catcher to move forward when engaged by a mine car, means for moving said catcher inward, and means controlled by the elevator car for moving the catcher outward.

9. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator car .movable therein, a landing, and a stop device arranged to be moved by a car shifted from the elevator car to the landing so as to o'll'er an obstruction to a car moved from the landing on the elevator car.

10. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator car movable therein, a landing, and a'stop device in the form of a vertically swinging lever having a comparatively heavy inner arm the said step device being mount ed at the landing and arranged to be moved by a car shiftedfrom the elevator car to the landing so that its inner arm will offer an obstruction to a car moved from the landing on the elevator car.

11. The combination of an elevator shaft, an elevator car movable therein, a landing, a car catcher arranged on the landing at one side of the elevator shaft, means fo r returning the car catcher to and normally holding it in a position to engage a car, means controlled by the elevator car for disengaging the catcher from a car, and a stop device located at the opposite side of the elevator shaft, with reference to the ear catcher, and arranged to be-moved by a car shifted from the elevator car to the landing so as to offer an obstruction to a car moved from the landing on the elevator car.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NORVAL V. DIOKERSON. Vitnesses:

THOMAS E. TURPIN, N ELLI'IC (l. llnALY. 

